The following disc is available February 25th from Arrow Academy (www.arrowvideo.com – www.facebook.com/ArrowVideo/) as a Special Edition Blu-ray.
Henri-Georges Clouzot was an incredibly well-respected French writer and director whose work has been praised by cinema experts for more than 50 years. He’s perhaps best known in this part of the world for classics like The Wages of Fear (1953) and Diabolique (1955). Still, many of his other titles are just as well respected. One such example is Manon (1949), an adaptation of the 1731 Antoine François Prévostnovel, Manon Lescaut. While the source material might lead some to believe that this earlier drama from Clouzot might not have much in common with his later, grittier work, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
This week, Arrow Academy are putting out Manon on Blu-ray. As with the distributor’s other titles, the high definition presentation of the movie looks spectacular. The images here are not only sharp and clean, but consistently striking in composition. And the disc comes with plenty of extras that will help new enthusiasts get a sense of what Clouzot was interested in and what he was trying to accomplish. The movie received raves during its original release, winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1949. And one can understand why, as It’s certainly a remarkably effective film and one that will offer cinema fans with plenty to enjoy and analyze.
It becomes clear right away that while using a classic novel as its source material, the story updates the setting to what would have been a modern era and features characters with contemporary sensibilities. Set at the close of WWII, stowaways Robert Desgrieux (Michel Auclair) and Manon Lescaut (Cécile Aubry) are arrested aboard a barge travelling east on the Mediterranean Sea among a group of Jewish refugees. The ship’s captain (Henri Vilbert) interviews the couple as they explain why they’ve hastily left their homeland.
Their tale begins with young French resistance fighter Robert being assigned to guard Manon. She is a woman accused of fraternizing with her Nazi occupiers. He quickly falls for her charms and the two escape a local mob. They try to make a new life for themselves in Paris with Manon’s brother, Léon Lescaut (Serge Reggiani). Unfortunately, it’s a tumultuous relationship, times are tough, and all involved are out to survive in a country struggling to recover from the war. The young and materialistic Manon becomes frustrated with Robert’s inability to make money and her brother encourages his sister into prostitution (taking a cut for himself in the process). This leads to all kinds of conflict between the three that results in tragedy.
This is certainly a melodramatic piece, with the leads veering from proclamations of love and adoration to volatile fights and spiteful behavior. In fact, the characters in the movie aren’t particularly nice or sympathetic, consistently treating each other quite poorly. While it makes some of their behavior a bit difficult to process, Clouzot’s approach actually ends up helping the film tremendously. This could have been a corny, straight-forward drama filled with the usual histrionics. However, the director makes sure never to give away too much information about his characters, forcing viewers to interpret their actions and come to their own interpretations of their motivations. As such, Robert and Manon are unpredictable, drawing viewers in as one studies their expressions to get a sense of what they might be thinking.
One thing is certain. It’s a harsh and unforgiving world in Clouzot’s eyes and both of the leads are deeply flawed people (not unlike the protagonists in the filmmaker’s other works). Manon is opportunistic and materialistic. It’s also never revealed whether or not she was guilty of the charges (although based on her actions, one assumes that she likely did whatever she could with the enemy to survive). Robert definitely falls into the obsessive type, furious with jealousy at his lady’s infidelities yet, unwilling to leave her or allow her to abandon him. These are very abnormal protagonists and there is plenty of fascinating drama on display. The lead performers are also very capable in their parts, making their characters fascinating to watch as we wait for a possible train-wreck to occur.
The movie is a technical delight, gorgeously photographed in black and white. There are some creative camera angles on display, including some overhead shots of the leads on the boat as well as images of them among crumbling buildings in a French village. When the story takes a turn and follows the protagonists walking with refugees through the scorching deserts of Palestine, there are even more incredible and almost surreal images. Some of the final revelations and use of sand during the climax are memorable and feature inventive arrangements of cast members within the frame. All of this is helped significantly by the new high definition presentation of the film. The images look crystal clear, making these sights pop more vibrantly onscreen than ever before.
Overall, this is a very good movie that may be a bit more eccentric than The Wages of Fear or Diabolique, but still has plenty of the artist’s trademarks. And the Blu-ray also includes some great bonus features to help decode the film. The first features critic Geoff Andrew discussing Clouzot’s early life and career. There are plenty of curious tidbits. The expert even suggests that the artist’s suffered from poor health and his numerous illnesses may have led to a sour world view. He goes over the man’s career and the varied titles he directed, noting the surprisingly misanthropic elements that are present in all of his work. Andrew also marvels at the skill in making grim pictures that were still appealing to mass audiences (many of his features were box office hits). The historian certainly helps to clarify some of the ideas and themes being toyed with onscreen in the picture.
There’s also an archival French documentary on the director. Made in 1970, it is essentially a series of conversations between the filmmakers, Clouzot, his wife, and the subject’s friends. He discusses his influences and childhood passion for the stories of Alexandre Dumas and Jules Verne. Besides a lengthy and impressive series of book recommendations, the filmmaker shares his interest in American fiction and jokes about a psychoanalysis treatment which ended with his provider suggesting that he not continue the process of resolving his psychological problems, ultimately fearing that doing so would limit his creativity… Clouzot agreed and never resumed with the therapy.
He also describes his creative process, his experiences in the industry and discusses the differences with storytelling using film and the written word. The creator comes across as remarkably relaxed and appears to be enjoying himself. All around are smoking like chimneys, surrounded by sidestream smoke and wafting fumes as they discuss the arts. It’s fun to watch. The disc also comes with a series of still and promotional images that accompanied the film’s release.
Manon is a fascinating feature and a great addition to Arrow Academy’s catalog of classic films. The movie looks spectacular and the extras are equally enlightening, helping viewers get inside the head of the creator of so many great features. This Blu-ray is another winner and won that will impress those with an interest in Henri-Georges Clouzot and his cinematic work.